


5 Times Joe and Nicky Tied the Knot and 1 Time They Didn't

by arrowsshootyouforwards



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Background Andy and Quynh - Freeform, F/F, F/M, Implied Booker and Nile but not explicit, M/M, Mentions of kidnapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:55:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28206453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arrowsshootyouforwards/pseuds/arrowsshootyouforwards
Summary: As the title says, 5 snapshots of Joe and Nicky getting married and one time that they didn't
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 8
Kudos: 71





	5 Times Joe and Nicky Tied the Knot and 1 Time They Didn't

  1. 1125



Nicoló had never given much thought to what it would be like on his wedding day. While in Seminary he had known he would be allowed to take a wife while ordained but personally had never been interested in a woman in that way enough to consider it, though his family were making plans for his future. They arranged a union with a girl, barely out of her teenage years, in a union that would be prosperous to his brother’s future ventures as the inheritor of their father’s estate. When he was sent to reclaim the Holy Land, he felt somewhat relieved that the plans had been brought to a halt, the girl was sweet enough, but Nicky didn’t love her, nor was he sure he could grow to do so.

In the three years he spent traveling to the Holy Land with the other soldiers, he received a letter telling him his bride was to be married to someone else. He should have been saddened by the news, he should have demanded to return and claim what was rightfully his, but he didn’t. Nicoló didn’t mind that he would never marry her, not when he was at the front, doing the work God intended. And it was here, while and inner conflict weighed on his mind, it was in the outer conflict of the battlefield, where he found his first death.

After weeks of being tormented by dreams of two women and his enemy, the one whom had struck him down and who Nicoló had struck down in return, Nicoló searched for him on the battlefield. He’d learned enough of the stranger’s language from the dreams and their prisoners to inform the man he didn’t want to fight, that they were different, and they shouldn’t be there. They fled together from the war and went in search of the women.

On the road, Nicoló and his new companion, Yusef, slowly allowed themselves to trust the other fully and after months, began teaching the other their languages. It took them almost 15 years to meet up with the two women in their dreams. Fifteen years of traveling, hoping to recognise a location from their dreams. Fifteen years of working in exchange for food and supplies for their travels, of sharing rooms in an inn to save what little precious gold they had earned. Fifteen years where Nicoló and Yusef broke down their boundaries and reservations about the other. Fifteen years where Nicoló began having feelings about his friend that he had never had about his once future bride and their relationship evolved in ways he could have never imagined.

Feelings that came to a head one morning in yet another shared bed, where Yusef had purposely stayed away the night before so he was for once on the outer edge. When morning came, Nicoló found himself trapped between Yusef’s body and the wall with the hard lines of Yusef’s body moulded to his back, a perfect fit. Having gotten used to his body’s reactions to having Yusef so close, Nicoló attempted to shift enough in Yusef’s arms to take care of his pressing need, only to have Yusef’s hand still his arm and his lips whispered in his ear. “Let me,” the voice whispered before the lips landed on the side of Nicoló’s freshly shaved jaw.

Their relationship grew physically and emotionally into something neither of them could have predicted as they fleed from battle years before. When they eventually found the women, Quynh and Andromache, they found they were in likeminded company and had no need to hide part of their lives from their new companions and it was Quynh who asked them if they had taken vows with each other.

“Why ever not?” She had asked.

“Where we are from, it was not the norm, who would perform such a ceremony for two men of different beliefs?” Nicoló responded.

“He’s right, it would never have been allowed,” Yusef agreed with him, “though I confess I had thought about it, when I saw others happily together.”

Nicoló put a hand on his arm, “I too had thought about it, perhaps someday things will change, and we can have what others do.”

“You could have that now,” Quynh insisted, despite Andromache’s attempts to get her to leave it be. “Andromache was once worshipped as a God and I spent years as a High Priestess, if you wanted, either of us would be happy to accommodate you.”

“Thank you for the offer, we may take you up on that one day, maybe soon, but first we would need to discuss things in more detail,” Yusef smiled across their campfire.

“Of course,” Quynh agreed and allowed the topic to rest.

Yusef and Nicoló went into town the next day to offer their services in work with local fishermen while Quynh and Andromache took to the woods to hunt. Secluded in their own small boat, Nicoló and Yusef discussed Quynh’s offer. “I should like to be married to you, Yusef, it is something I never thought possible until she mentioned it.” Nicoló confessed.

“I agree, but first we should discuss what we want, as we both know our companion’s excitement can run away with her sometimes,” Yusef reminded him.

“Indeed,” Nicoló agreed, “what would you like to discuss first? It’s not like we can do anything else right now. Tell me about marriage where you are from, perhaps our beliefs share customs.”

“I believe there are some similarities,” Yusef recalled.

Returning to port that afternoon, Yusef and Nicoló received their days pay and some fish to take back to camp with them. In the market, Yusef did some bartering as even after years, Nicoló didn’t feel confident he could get the best deals. When they met back up with their companions, they told Quynh if she was still willing, they’d like her to perform a ceremony, under the moonlight, on the shore of the nearby town. They spent two nights planning what they would say and include in the ceremony before booking a night in the nearby inn and passage on a ship the next morning for the four of them.

Yusef and Nicoló spent the day apart, visiting separate bath houses to prepare for the night and their long journey ahead of them at sea, meeting once again at nightfall when most families had left the shore and Andromache had started a bonfire. Nicoló had spent the afternoon in a small church, perched atop a hill, while Yusef had found a quiet place to pray and gather his thoughts. They met at the shore, joining their hands as they walked to join Quynh and Andromache, who rose to greet them. Quynh began the ceremony, using their carefully selected words.

“Nicoló and Yusef. We are here to witness a union, joining you in marriage to one and other. You have written promises to each other and I invite you to make those now.”

Yusef went first, “Nicoló, you mean more to me than most people could dream of. You’re the stars in my sky and the sun that lights my days. My moon when I’m lost in darkness and warmth when I shiver in cold. I love you beyond measure and reason. Your kiss still thrills me after all of our years together and your body awakens passion in me that many will never know. Your heart overflows with kindness that most in the world are unworthy of, yet you still give. Your very thoughts make music mundane in comparison. I love you now and I will love you until the end of my days, this I promise to you.” In the background, Yusef could’ve sworn he heard Andromache sniff and move to wipe her eye, something she would later deny, but he didn’t look to be sure, he was too focused on Nicoló in front of him.

“Yusef, I’m not sure I can say more than you already have to demonstrate my feelings for you, I feel you’ve captured it perfectly. I grew up in a strange regime, love was taboo and nobody married for it, my own wedding was planned to make my older brother a new business partner, then I was taken to my fate, to meet you, of which I’m sure God had planned from the beginning. I’ve felt things for you I have never felt for another person. I love you and I always will, you light my way in darkness and warm my soul and I promise to always do the same for you.”

Quynh returned, holding two simple bands Yusef had bought the day before. “With the exchanging of these rings, you are bound in marriage to one and other, for as long as you both shall wish.” They exchanged the rings and sealed their union with a kiss.

  1. 1625



The loss of Quynh was felt heavily for their small group, and more so by Andromache who had lost the person who meant more to her than life itself. Ever since her own rescue, by Joseph and Nicolas, Andromache had wasted no time in tracking down those involved in dumping her love at sea and had spent years on the waves, searching for her.

Joseph and Nicolas accompanied her, along with an ever-changing crew, who she switched as often as people told her that she had barely aged. As explorers travelled by ship and trading ships ran their routes, the ship became infamous as the most feared pirate ship, captained by a woman with no light in her eyes or soul in her heart. Towards the end of the previous century, they had rescued numerous women from the same fate as Quynh, furthering their reputation as a crew to be reckoned with.

Life on board wasn’t so bad, Andromache had put Nicolas in charge of supplies and cooking for the crew, meaning they were likely some of the healthier pirates on the waves as he had learned more than a trick or two about food in his immortality.

The wedding they had aboard was a simple and purely private affair, taken in the privacy of Andromache’s office and navigation room. When Quynh had been with them, renewing their vows had been a joyous occasion, but the thought of asking Andromache when they knew how she felt about getting married had not sat right with them. With this in mind, in the dead of night, the two men had slipped above deck and into the navigation room where Joseph presented Nicolas with his original ring, worn with age, on a gold chain to keep around his neck. It was a quiet and respectful moment between the two of them, where they each, in their own way, prayed they would find and be reunited with their lost companion.

A prayer they feared had fallen on death ears.

  1. 2014



Of all of the weddings Joe and Nicky had had, the quickest by far was the one they had in New York City in July of 2014. It hadn’t been planned and really, they were just passing through during a cooldown period after a mission in Seattle across the country when Booker made a comment about seeing the legalization of same sex marriage in New York being passed.

They’d discussed it while the others were asleep, they had been married since Quynh had married them on the beach centuries before. They were laid in the narrow bed, facing one and other, fingers caressing each other’s sides. “Do you think we should?” Joe asked.

“I’m torn on the idea,” Nicky confessed. “One the one hand, we’re married and let’s face it, we know that and that is what matters. But on the other hand, this is one of the better things mankind has achieved, equal marriage, even if it isn’t everywhere, it’s hard not to want to be a part of that.”

“I agree,” Joe sighed, “there are cameras everywhere covering this, we would need to be very careful, if we did.”

“We could tell them that putting us on TV would put us in danger and hope they would respect our wishes,” Nicky suggested.

“It’s risky,” Joe noted, “but if you’d want to, I’d love to get married to you again.”

“I’ll always marry you again.” Nicky pulled a chain out from under his shirt, “maybe we can finally get around to replacing these with something I can actually wear,” he murmured. The chain Nicky wore around his neck held their original rings which had been damaged and misshapen over the years to the point they didn’t fit anymore and were too fragile to have resized.

“It will be nice to once again see a ring on your finger,” Joe smiled, bringing Nicky’s hand to his lips.

The next morning, Joe and Nicky slipped out of the safehouse while Andy was still sleeping, in the nicest things they could find, their IDs and a forged marriage licence Booker had printed for them. Reaching Time Square, they found someone with a clipboard to put their names down to be married. “And are you happy to be featured by a local news team?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Joe said, “if our families were to see us, it could cause a lot of trouble,” it wasn’t a complete lie, if Andy saw it, she would be pissed at them. “Also, if it could be as quick as possible, he has to get back to work,” he lied and Nicky ducked his head, playing shy.

“Of course!” The assistant assured them, “We have a quick service spot coming up in ten minutes, it can take anything from one to five minutes depending on what you want done.”

“Perfect, thank you,” Nicky said, speaking for the first time.

“Do you want any particular religious affiliation in the ceremony?”

“Non-denominational is fine, we’d just like to exchange rings,” Joe told her.

“Great, I’ll let you know when we’re ready, if you want to stay off the news, stay outside the taped area, the officiate will come to you.”

They thanked her and waited their turn, watching the other couples before them. An officiate was brought over to them, outside the filming zone and after checking what they wanted checked their names and IDs before beginning.

“Do you, Yusef Al-Kaysani, take Nicoló-”

“I do,” Joe answered, taking both of Nicky’s hands in his. The officiate raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment, turning to Nicky.

“And do you, Nicoló di Genova, take Yusef-”

“I do,” Nicky said, eagerly.

“Please exchange the rings,” they slid their new rings into place grinning widely. “I pronounce you husbands, you may kiss,” he said, taking the marriage licence from the assistant and signing it. “Congratulations,” he nodded and returned to the taped off area.

Joe and Nicky turned to the assistant, “thank you, he took the speed of that quite well.”

“You’re welcome, though that wasn’t even the quickest one we’ve done since the law was passed. A lot of people want to get it done before it can be repealed so a lot of hurried ceremonies followed by grand parties later on. Congratulations, enjoy the rest of your day.”

Joe and Nicky, who hadn’t let go of each other since arriving, walked out of the cordoned off area, “now where oh where should we go for a honeymoon?” Joe wondered in Nicky’s ear.

Nicky smirked, “let’s survive Andy first, then we’ll go to Malta, cuore mio.”

  1. 2019



Joe and Nicky’s biggest wedding took place when they were deep undercover, four years after their cover began in 2015. Their cover started as grad-students sharing a house in an area with a suspected trafficking ring, but when one of their neighbours saw them kissing through their kitchen window, well, news travels quickly in the suburbs. They began receiving invites to all kind of neighbourhood events and while Andy was sceptical at first, Joe argued this was the in they might need into the community if they were going to get close to the people they needed to.

She and Booker moved into an apartment in the city, close enough to provide back-up if needed. Their cover was that Joe and Booker had known each other for years, which was backed up with doctored photos of the two of them from middle-school to college. After they had been to some parties, Nicky suggested they host one for the neighbours. He knew some of them wouldn’t be able to resist sneaking around their house to check if they were genuine and it was a good way for the neighbours to see them with Booker and Andy – or Andrea as her cover called for it – without them just coming and going from the house.

A year in, they felt like they were getting nowhere. All they had was a community with a high home-school rate and numerous international adoptions, with shy and withdrawn children.

“So when are you getting married?” The question caught Joe so off-guard he choked on his beer at Brenda and James’ garden party.

“Sorry?” He asked, clearing his throat.

“Well I saw that obvious engagement ring Nicky wears,” Jen from three houses down continued, “so when will it be? And how did you ask?” Joe, still in a bit of shock, took a moment to come up with a lie he would have to remember and tell Nicky.

“Oh, um, I asked at our graduation,” he said, recovering. “We hadn’t really thought about it. How come?”

“Well you’ve lived here for a while and when you’re married you could join the adoption and home-school club,” Allison told him with an over sincere tone.

“Right! You guys are so good with the kids,” Penny said. “You really should get some of your own.” Joe did well not to laugh at that, he and Nicky rarely were around their neighbours’ kids until recently and even then, the kids tried to duck out of the room when they were around.

That evening, Joe told Nicky what he’d been asked. They waited until they were in their bedroom, knowing it was the only room that wasn’t bugged by one of their neighbours something they checked regularly. They chose not to get rid of bugs they found as they didn’t want them to know they knew they were being listened to.

“You know they won’t want to let us do this quietly, right?” Joe said.

“I know,” Nicky groaned, “for people so private they do seem to lack boundaries. We can get through this, you ask about venues, I’ll get Booker to do the forgeries and sort everything else.”

“Guess we finally get to cross ‘Big White Wedding’ off of that bingo card Booker made us for our anniversary after New York,” Joe chuckled.

“True, just a vow renewal to go and we have a line,” Nicky said teasingly.

“Shame we can’t combine them,” Joe joked.

“I know, so close yet so far.”

Joe and Nicky’s wedding was at the country club where they were invited to become members as a wedding present from one of the couples. The chaplain from the University Nicky worked at agreed to perform a dual faith inclusive ceremony for them. Booker was Joe’s best man and Nicky had been ‘ _encouraged’_ by the women to have them as bridesmaids with one of their daughter’s as flower girl.

If the circumstances were any different, they may have enjoyed the day more, but they spent it keeping character and playing a part. The biggest relief was when they left for their honeymoon, two weeks in Malta, where they had told their neighbours they had first met. When they returned, they played the part of the newly weds for another year before Fredrick, Jen’s husband and a social worker, approached them about whether they wanted to get the ball rolling on getting children.

Seizing their chance, Joe and Nicky did everything they were asked. They attended classes, seminars and completed online courses, jumped through whatever hoops they were faced with. Fredrick spun them a tale of a six-year-old girl in Germany, who had been rescued from an abusive home and would only be safe if she were adopted out of the country. He encouraged them not to learn the language as it would help her settle quicker in the US if she weren’t reminded of home. Joe and Nicky very much doubted that but went along with it for the sake of the mission. He fell for their act and made it happen. Booker supplied them with covert cameras and equipment to collect evidence for the authorities.

When they met Amelie, she was considerably frightened of them, meekly accepting the gifts they had brought her on the insistence of Jen, who had come with them and Fredrick as moral support, over to Germany to meet her. Also with Amelie was a translator, whom they immediately clocked as working with the traffickers as she gave them false translations to what Amelie was saying. The translator gushed about how excited Amelie was to come and live with them in the US, while the little girl begged for her mother and father. Using imaging software, Booker was able to track down who her parents were and confirm what information about her was accurate.

Once she had been brought to the US, Andy faked a family emergency in Greece and flew to Greece and then Germany to speak to Amelie’s parents. She encouraged them to keep up their search, while secretly informing them of the truth, that their daughter was with undercover agents and would be returned safely to them. They were mainly relieved that she was safe, though wary of being away from their little girl for longer, she had been kidnapped months before and had already missed Christmas and her sixth birthday.

Returning to the US with Amelie, Joe and Nicky did a bug sweep, finding that their home had been entered and their bedroom bugged in their absence. Fredrick and Jen reminded them to introduce her to neighbours slowly and keep her at home for a short while so she could adjust to her new situation. It killed Joe and Nicky to play dumb to her words and ignore her pleas for her mother, but they knew it would jeopardize what they were doing. Finally, 2 months in, they managed to take her to Andy and Booker’s apartment, where they revealed they could understand her.

“We need you to be a very brave girl,” Joe spoke softly to her, “we need you to pretend that you don’t know we can understand you, OK? In front of the other moms and dads and kids. You’ll be back with your own parents soon, OK, but until then, you need to pretend nothing has changed, understand?” Amelie nodded.

They quickly taught her some hand signals, for how they would communicate with her in the presence of the other families before they took her home as they had a scheduled playdate that afternoon, while Penny took Joe through the home-school curriculum the families followed.

It took Joe and Nicky another two months to gather enough evidence and bring down the trafficking ring, at the end of which, they personally returned Amelie to her parents, watched their joyous reunion and then slipped away without a trace before the event was brought to the attention of too many people.

While it was their biggest wedding, it was very much the one Joe and Nicky would have rather forgotten.

  1. 2025



2025 was a big year for Joe and Nicky, being the 900th anniversary of the first time they were married by Quynh, whom they had found a few years prior. They took turns planning their century anniversaries, this year Nicky had made the plans with Nile, wanting to surprise Joe with something special. He knew exactly what he wanted to do but keeping secrets from someone you’d been married to for 900 years was no easy task.

As usual, for a milestone anniversary, they travelled to Malta and to the home they had there. The morning of their anniversary, Nicky woke Joe with breakfast in bed, with all of his favourites and told him about what he had planned for them. They spent the morning in bed, before heading to the culture and historical centre of Malta, reminiscing at everything that had passed them by in their lives.

The real surprise came in the evening, when Nicky picked out some clothes for Joe to wear and led him down to the beach as night began to fall. Joe spotted the four bodies around the campfire right away and knew what Nicky had planned. “You like it?” Nicky asked, realising Joe putting the pieces together.

“I love it,” Joe murmured, pressing their lips together.

Greeting their family, they began the vow renewal, re-exchanging the rings from 2014 when they were legally married for the first time. Quynh led the ceremony and asked them to speak their vows.

“Nicoló, you mean more to me than most people could dream of. You’re the stars in my sky and the sun that lights my days. My moon when I’m lost in darkness and warmth when I shiver in cold. I love you beyond measure and reason. Your kiss still thrills me after 900 years together and your body awakens passion in me that many will never know. Your heart overflows with kindness that most in the world are unworthy of, yet you still give. Your very thoughts make music mundane in comparison. I love you now and I will love you until the end of my days, this I promise to you, another 900 at least.”

“You incurable romantic,” Nicky teased him before beginning his own, altered vows, “Yusef, all of these years have only strengthened my belief that God brought us together, those centuries ago with a purpose in mind. You’re an incredible man, you are passionate and caring, you inspire so much of the kindness that I have to give. I love you; I always have, and I always will. To the next 900, may they be as action packed and fun-filled as the first.”

They exchanged the rings and Quynh pronounced them husbands, inviting them to kiss. Joe captured Nicky’s cheeks between his hands, pulling him into a passionate and lingering kiss. As far as Joe was concerned, Nicky had won the century anniversary contest, as he realised that they had renewed their original vows right on the same sand as they had spoken them the first time.

+1. 2032

Joe stirred as Nicky’s hair tickled his nose, tightening his arms around the warm body. As he woke, the sleep-fog clearing from his brain, Joe realised they weren’t in the safe house they had been in the night before. Sitting and looking around, he recognized they were in a hotel room and the view from the window told him they were either in Vegas or several continents had merged. Nicky stirred beside him, registering his unfamiliar surroundings, he instinctively reached for the gun he slept with, only calmed by Joe’s hand on his side.

A pro of their condition meant they didn’t suffer painful hangovers like regular people, but if they drank enough, they were able to black out and not remember themselves. In his head, Nicky was trying to piece together the previous night, but was only getting brief flashes. Neither Joe or Nicky usually let themselves get into this state so when it did happen it was foreign and irritating. “I’m remembering a wedding chapel?” Nicky grumbled, stretching. “Did we get married again? By Elvis?” Nicky asked, pulling a face.

Joe held up his hand and began counting the rings he’d collected from his and Nicky’s weddings throughout their lives but came up with the same number he’d counted last time. “No,” he held up his hand to show Nicky, “not us.” Joe confirmed, relieved.

“Then who?”

“I got nothing,” Joe said, trying to remember. “Let’s shower and go find the other’s, maybe we just passed through,” he shrugged.

Texting ahead, Joe arranged to meet with Nile and Booker in the hotel lobby, leaving Andy from the texts as she was not a morning person and he knew better than to interrupt her sleep. It had been 12 years since Nile had joined the team and it was like she had always been there. “Nicky it’s early, what’re you doing?” Nile asked Nicky during breakfast as he seemed to be trying to look at her and Booker without actually looking at them.

“He’s trying to see if you guys got married last night, we have memories of a chapel and an Elvis impersonator, but no new wedding rings,” Joe said, holding his own hand up as proof.

“You mean it wasn’t you guys?” Booker asked, just as confused as they had been. “We got flashes of it but no memories, we assumed you guys went for it again.”

“No, we said we’d never do it in Vegas,” Joe told him. “We thought maybe we’d just passed through one, you know how Quynh likes to encourage people, maybe we were witnesses.”

“Maybe,” Nile shrugged.

Quynh had been back with them for a little under 10 years after they had finally found her iron coffin. Copley had been set the task of locating her when Nile joined and finally came through with some possible locations thanks to modern technology and sonic imaging. They’d come across several coffins in the process of women wrongfully accused around the same time as Quynh, but finally found her after two years with Joe, Nicky, Andy, Nile and Booker crammed on a boat together, only making port if they needed to for supplies. Quynh had taken to the modern world like a duck to water, picking up new languages quickly and accurately and was glad to finally meet her new immortal brother and sister.

“She’ll remember, she remembers everything,” Nicky assured them.

As they ate, a concierge from the front desk approached their table and held out a note for Joe. “A message was left for you at the front desk early this morning,” they said, handing him an envelope with Quynh’s elegant script on the outside.

“Thank you,” he said, waiting until they had retreated before opening the note. Reading the note, he chuckled, looking up to the others. “It’s from Quynh, she says ‘ _Finally convinced Andromache to take that leap, we’ll be on honeymoon, exploring our homelands. See you in… let’s say five years… Maybe._ ’”

“Andy got married? There’s something I never thought I’d see,” Nicky grumbled taking some bills out of his wallet and placing them in front of Booker as the Frenchman took the note to read it for himself.

“Well it’s long overdue,” Joe commented, “you alright Nile?”

“Were they not married like you and Nicky back then?”

“They were going to, but then they lost Lykon and I think it spooked Andy to know that immortals can die without warning, so she was always wary of us making commitments so serious when one of us might die before the other,” Nicky filled in. “She never tried to stop us, but she was resistant to Quynh’s encouragement. But it is long overdue for them,” he said, agreeing with Joe.

“Wonder how she convinced her to go through with it?” Booker asked, setting the note down.

“Andy could never deny Quynh for too long,” Joe informed them.

Nicky grinned, “true and she did try.” Nicky raised his orange juice, “To Andy and Quynh, a long overdue union.” He toasted and the other’s raised their cups.

“To Andy and Quynh.”


End file.
